Securing patient vital sign data and configuring vital sign data for remote access by healthcare providers

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are systems, devices, and methods for remotely measuring one or more vital signs of a patient, securely storing and communicating the resulting vital sign data, and configuring the vital sign data for secure access by a healthcare provider computer system to enable remote monitoring of the patients vital signs. One or more vital sign monitoring devices detect patient vital signs and securely transmit the resulting vital sign data to an external computer device such as the patients smart phone or abase station computer device. The external computer device communicates with a server system, such as a secure cloud storage system, which configures the vital sign measurement data and received patient identification data and makes it accessible to one or more healthcare provider computer systems.

BACKGROUND

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities routinely monitor patients'vital signs. The conventional equipment used to detect and monitorpatients is typically large, bulky, and expensive. While such equipmentmay be workable in certain settings, it can limit the freedom ofmovement and comfort of the patient. Further, the vital sign datacollected with the conventional equipment is typically not made readilyavailable to the patient or other caretakers. For example, although thepatient or caretaker may be able to look to a bedside display to seesome vital sign information, the equipment is often designed simply toperiodically monitor the patient and sound an alarm (typically anaudible alarm) if the measured vital sign falls above or below somethreshold level.

In addition, some patients may require health monitoring outside of adedicated healthcare facility, such as in their own homes. In caseswhere monitoring is insufficient or the gathered vital sign data is notproperly managed, complications may arise and emergency situations maydevelop. In many cases these complications are preventable and can beavoided if the patient's health is properly monitored and communicated.

Typically, for patient monitoring outside of a dedicated healthcarefacility, a healthcare provider must send personnel to the home of thepatient or the patient must make frequent visits to the healthcareprovider. This conventional practice is limited by the frequency atwhich the healthcare provider can monitor the patient. Often, personnellimitations prevent the healthcare provider from checking on a patientmore than a few times a week. Likewise, a patient may not be able visitthe healthcare provider with sufficient frequency. Complications mayarise between visits that could be avoided with more frequent healthmonitoring.

Accordingly, there is a long felt and ongoing need for systems, devices,and methods for enabling remote monitoring of patients. Providing remotemonitoring of patients presents several technical challenges. Forexample, monitoring devices used to gather patient vital signinformation may fail to properly communicate with remote computersystems. Loss of vital sign data could result in a failure to identify acritical health situation. In addition, whenever sensitive patient datais being handled and communicated, there is a risk of disclosing datathat should be secured. Finding a proper balance between enablingeffective utilization of the vital sign data while protecting personalinformation is a serious challenge.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes systems, devices, and related methodsfor remotely measuring one or more vital signs of a patient, securelystoring and communicating the resulting vital sign data, and configuringthe vital sign data for secure access by a healthcare provider computersystem to enable remote monitoring of the patient's vital signs. One ormore vital sign monitoring devices detect patient vital signs andsecurely transmit the resulting vital sign data to an external computerdevice such as the patient's smart phone or a base station computerdevice. The external computer device communicates with a server system,such as a secure cloud storage system, which configures the vital signmeasurement data and received patient identification data and makes itaccessible to one or more healthcare provider computer systems.

In one embodiment, a computer system for securing vital sign measurementdata and configuring the vital sign measurement data for accessibilityby a remote system is configured to generate a unique patient identifierrelating to a patient to which one or more wearable vital signmonitoring devices are associated. The system is also configured toreceive, from a user-associated computer device, patient identificationinformation relating to the patient. Based on the received patientidentification information, and based on the unique patient identifier,the system generates a patient identity database unique to the patientto store the patient identification information (such as patientprotected health information (PHI)).

The system also receives, from the user-associated computer device,vital sign measurement data indicative of one or more vital signs of thepatient/user as measured by one or more wearable vital sign monitoringdevices worn by the patient/user. Based on the received vital signmeasurement data, and based on the unique patient identifier, the systemgenerates a vital sign measurements database unique to the patient tostore the vital sign measurement data. The vital sign measurementsdatabase is separate from the patient identity database. The system isalso configured to send the vital sign measurement data from the vitalsign measurement database to one or more remote computer systems tothereby enable remote monitoring of the one or more vital signs whileprotecting the patient's personal information.

In another embodiment, a wearable vital sign monitoring systemconfigured to enable remote monitoring of vital sign measurementscomprises a sensor assembly and an internal controller. The internalcontroller is configured to receive vital sign measurement data from thesensor assembly, and to locally store the vital sign measurement data.The controller may then determine a connectivity status to an externalcomputer device (e.g., a user-associated device such as the patient'ssmartphone, tablet, or personal computer).

Based on the determined connectivity status, when a connection isconfirmed, the controller sends the vital sign measurement data to theexternal computer device and flags the vital sign measurement data fordeletion from local storage. Alternatively, when no connection isconfirmed, the controller maintains the vital sign measurement data inlocal storage and continue to periodically determine the connectivitystatus. The controller may also generate an alarm/alert/notification tonotify the patient/user of the issue.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in part in thedescription that follows. It is to be understood that both the foregoingsummary and the following detailed description are exemplary andexplanatory only, and are not to be read as limiting the disclosure toany particular set of embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more particular description will be rendered by the embodimentsillustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that thesedrawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. In theaccompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrates exemplary vital sign monitoring systemscomprising wearable monitoring devices;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer architecture for a vital signremote monitoring system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a server system, showing various database typesthat may be included within the server system;

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate data structures that may be included withinthe various databases of the server system;

FIG. 7 is a schematic of a wearable monitoring device showing variouscomponents associated with the wearable monitoring device;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a user-associated device communicatively linkedto the wearable monitoring device of FIG. 7 and the server system ofFIG. 3, showing a vital sign measurement application and its associatedcomponents;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a device associated with a healthcarepractitioner or facility communicatively linked to the server system,showing a differently configured vital sign measurement application; and

FIGS. 10 through 12 illustrate exemplary computer-implemented methodsfor configuring vital sign measurement data and enabling remotemonitoring of vital sign measurement data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary vital sign monitoring system 100configured to monitor one or more vital signs while worn by a user. Thewearable monitoring system 100 includes a torso monitoring device 102and a limb monitoring device 104. The torso monitoring device 102 ispreferably positioned on the user's chest wall as shown, and the limbmonitoring device 104 is preferably positioned on the user's upper armas shown. The monitoring system 100 may be used, for example, to monitorblood pressure, temperature, respiration rate, pulse rate, and the like.

The torso monitoring device 102 and limb monitoring device 104 mayinclude one or more position sensors (e.g., a 9-axis sensor includes a3-axis gyroscope, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis magnetometer)that enable determination of the spatial position of the limb monitoringdevice 104 relative to the torso monitoring device 102. This spatialposition data can be utilized to calibrate blood pressure readingsobtained using the limb monitoring device 104. The torso monitoringdevice 102 and limb monitoring device 104 are communicatively linked toone another through a suitable communication network, such as via aBluetooth connection and/or other personal area network (PAN).

In FIG. 1A, the torso monitoring device 102 is shown placed on the torsowall at the fourth intercostal space in a mid-axillary position. Thetorso monitoring device 102 is also tilted relative to the transverseplane of the user in order to better receive the electrocardiogramsignal from the user. This position also provides an effective baselinelevel of the height of the heart, which is useful when the torsomonitoring device 102 is used in conjunction with the limb monitoringdevice 104. While this represents a typical placement of the torsomonitoring device 102, it will be understood that placement may varyaccording to particular application requirements and according toparticular user preferences, needs, and/or anatomy. Further, while thecomponents of the monitoring system 100 are shown here as being worn onthe user's right side, one or both components may be worn on the leftside.

FIG. 1B illustrates an alternative vital sign monitoring system 600 withseveral similarities to the system 100. The system 600 includes a torsomonitoring device 602 and a limb monitoring device 604. The separatemonitoring devices 602 and 604 are communicatively linked to one anotherand are configured to monitor vital signs in the same manner as likecomponents of system 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer system architecture for aremote monitoring system 101. The system 101 enables remote monitoringof vital signs and configuring of the vital sign data for accessibilityby a healthcare entity. The limb monitoring device 104 iscommunicatively linked to one or both of a user device 106 and a basestation 108. The torso monitoring device 102 may additionally oralternatively be connected to the user device 106 and/or base station108, though preferred embodiments allow the limb monitoring device 104to manage these connections in order to minimize the size/complexity ofthe torso monitoring device 102.

The user device 106 and the base station 108 (also referred to herein as“external computer devices”) receive the vital sign data collected andsent by the monitoring devices 102 and/or 104. The user device 106 maybe a user's smartphone, tablet, or personal computer, for example, andwill typically be associated with the monitoring devices 102, 104 in ahome monitoring setting. The base station 108 may be a hospital orhealthcare provider computer system, and will typically be associatedwith the monitoring devices 102, 104 in a healthcare facility setting.

The user device 106 and/or base station 108 are preferably connected tothe monitoring device 104 and/or monitoring device 102 with a PAN or NFClink, though they may additionally or alternatively be connected viaother wired or wireless networks (with wireless being more preferred)such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and/or theInternet. While the remainder of the connections illustrated in FIG. 1are preferably secured, the connection between monitoring devices 102and 104 may simply be encrypted, as data transferred between themonitoring devices 102 and 104 will only include vital sign informationand will not include sensitive patient identifying data. It is thereforeless critical to have high level protection.

The user device 106 and/or base station 108 are configured to relay thevital sign measurement data to a secure server system 110, which may bea dedicated computer system, a distributed computer environment, and/ora cloud computing environment. In this description and the followingclaims, “cloud computing” is defined as a model for enabling on-demandnetwork access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources(e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). Theconnection to the secure server system 110 should be secured, as it willlikely contain private, identifying patient data. The user device 106and/or base station 108 may communicate with the server system 110 via asecured cellular network connection or secured Internet connection(e.g., WiFi or Ethernet), for example.

As shown, the server system 110 may be connected to one or more computersystems or devices associated with a healthcare facility, such ashealthcare facility system 112 and/or practitioner device 114 (alsoreferred to herein as remote devices or systems). The healthcarefacility system 112 may include, for example, a monitoring stationcomputer device where a nurse or other caretaker can see vital signinformation from multiple patients at the same time. For example, thehealthcare facility system 112 may include an application enabling thesystem 112 to pull vital sign data from the server system 110 related tomultiple patients within a ward, floor, or other division of a hospitalor clinic. The practitioner device 114 may be, for example, a tablet orsmartphone device that a doctor or nurse can interact with to visualizepatient vital sign data pulled from the server system 110.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates components that may be included in theserver system 110. As shown, the server system 110 may include a patientID database 116. When a new patient is entered into the system, apatient ID from the patient ID database 116 is assigned. The patient IDpreferably omits any information related to region, time, date, or otherinformation related to private patient data. The patient ID may be, forexample, a random string of characters. A start time is also recorded,at the time the patient ID is assigned, to function as a baseline fordetermining the relative time of subsequent vital sign measurements.

FIG. 4 provides an example of an entry 301 that could be included withinthe patient ID database 116. The entry 301 includes a patient ID 302, a“used” field 304 indicating whether it has been assigned to a patient,and a start time 306. As shown, the patient ID 302 is preferably apre-defined, unique, random number of at least 8 digits, though otherembodiments may include differently configured patient IDs. The starttime 306 may be based on Greenwich Mean Time, as shown, or may utilizeany other suitable base time measurement.

The server system 110 may also include separate databases created foreach patient. For example, once a patient ID has been recorded asassigned in the patient ID database 116, a vital sign measurementdatabase 118 and a protected health information (PHI) database 120 areeach separately created for the patient. The vital sign measurementdatabase 118 includes de-identified vital sign measurements related tothe patient and the relative time the vital sign measurements wereobtained, and the PHI database 120 includes private protected healthinformation (PHI) such as name, age, weight, etcetera.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a vital sign measurement entry 307, andFIG. 6 illustrates an example of a patient identity data entry 317. Thedata within the vital sign measurement entry 307 is de-identified fromany PHI related to the patient, and the private PHI information storedwithin the patient identity data entry 317 is only linkable to the otherdata by way of the unique patient ID 302. As shown, the vital signmeasurement entry 307 includes the patient ID 302, the relative time 310since the start time that the measurement was taken, the data type 312(e.g., vital sign measured), the data value 314 in units according todata type 312, and a data quality score 316 assigned based on thedetermined accuracy or quality of the measurement.

The patient identity data entry 317 separately stores PHI such aspatient name, address, birthdate/age, height, weight, gender, and thelike. Generating and storing separate databases 118 and 120 for vitalsign measurement data and patient identification information,respectively, beneficially “quarantines” the private PHI to reduce oreliminate the risk of unintended dissemination of PHI. At the same time,the vital sign measurement data is made remotely accessible tohealthcare personnel and/or caretakers remote from the user. The vitalsign measurement data is not directly linked to any identifiablepatient, and can only be linked to a particular patient using the uniquepatient ID 302. The PHI database 120 may have greater security than thevital sign measurement database 118, and will only be accessible tothose with authority, such as the user and possibly the user's primaryphysician.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates components that may be included as partof the vital sign monitoring device 102 and/or 104. A sensor assembly172 is configured for measuring one or more of the patient's vitalsigns, as described above. A controller 161 includes memory 162 and aprocessor 164. As with other processors described herein, the processor164 can perform Boolean logic or can produce a pre-determined outputbased on input.

The processor 164 can include ROM memory, programmable logic device(PLD), programmable array logic (PAL), generic array logic (GAL),complex programmable logic device (CPLD), field programmable gate arrays(FPGA), logic gates, processors, or any other logic function. As withother memory components described herein, the memory 162 may includeRAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical andtangible storage medium which can be used to store desired program codemeans in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structuresand which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purposecomputing system. Such memory devices may also be referred to herein as“computer-readable storage media” or a “hardware storage device.”

The vital sign monitoring device 102 and/or 104 also includes acommunication module 166 to enable communications with one or moreexternal devices (e.g., the user device 106 and/or base station 108).Preferably, these communications utilize NFC and/or a PAN, such asthrough a Bluetooth connection. The connection between the vital signmonitoring device(s) and the user device 106 and/or base station 108 mayadditionally or alternatively include a hardwired connection and/or theuse of other communication modalities that utilize other communicationmedia, such as optical (e.g., infrared), ultrasound, or infrasoundtransmissions.

The communication protocol is intended to allow seamless connectionbetween the monitoring device(s) and the user device 106 and/or basestation 108. In particular, the typical user may not be technicallysavvy and the pairing process should therefore be straightforward andrelatively simple. In one embodiment, for example, the pairing processutilizes one or more of Bluetooth BR/EDR Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) andBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Out-of-Band (OOB) pairing protocols. Thebenefits of a simple pairing process should be balanced against the needto provide sufficient security, however, because the transmitted datawill include sensitive health information. As such, some preferredembodiments utilize BLE at reduced power to ensure that thetransmissions are limited to the proximity of the linked monitoringdevice(s). For example, whereas a standard class 1 Bluetooth device hasa range of about 100 m, the disclosed connection transmissions may limitthis by about 25%, or by about 50%, or by about 75%, or by about 90%.

The vital sign monitoring device 102 and/or 104 also includes aconnectivity determiner 170 configured to determine the connectivitystatus between the monitoring device 102 and/or 104 and the externaldevice. The connectivity determiner 170 operates in conjunction with avital sign data router 171 to minimize the risk of vital sign data loss.For example, when the connectivity determiner 170 determines that thereis an adequate connection to the external device, the vital sign datarouter 171 operates to send the vital sign data to the external deviceand flags the vital sign data for deletion (e.g., upon acknowledgmentfrom the external device that the communication has been received). Onthe other hand, when the connectivity determiner 170 determines thatthere is no or insufficient connectivity to the external device, thevital sign data router 171 operates to store vital sign data in localstorage/memory 162 until an adequate connection can be established.

These operations ensure that no vital sign data is lost due toconnectivity issues. At the same time, once connectivity is established,sent vital sign data may be flagged for deletion to minimize datastorage requirements at the monitoring device 102 and/or 104. Of course,the vital sign data that has been confirmed as sent does not need to beimmediately deleted. Even sent data may be stored for a predeterminedtime period or until another event occurs to provide for deletion.However, such “flagged for deletion” data will be managed differentlythan data that has not been sent to the external device. Such unsentdata should be locally stored for as long as possible until a connectioncan be established.

The connectivity determiner 170 may also operate to give a notificationor warning to alert the user when connectivity is lost. For example, themonitoring device 102 and/or 104 may include a light, display, and/orspeaker configured to give an audio and/or visual notification when noconnection is determined.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates components that may be included as partof the user device 106 and/or the base station 108 (referred tohereafter for simplicity as the user device 106). The user device 106includes memory 122, a processor 124, and a communications module 126configured to enable communications with the monitoring device(s) 102and/or 104 and to enable communications with the server system 110. Theuser device 106 may include a vital sign application 128 configured toprovide several features related to vital sign monitoring. In a typicalembodiment, these features are included as part of the vital signapplication 128, but they need not all be provided as part of the samededicated application, and one or more of the illustratedmodules/operations may be provided by other applications and/or by thenative programming of the user device 106 itself.

In the illustrated embodiment, the vital sign application 128 includes aconnectivity notifier 130 configured to notify a user of the connectionstatus of the user device 106 to the monitoring device 102, 104 and/orto the server system 110. The vital sign application 128 also includes avital sign data display 132 configured to organize the received vitalsign data into displayable results for display on a user interface ofthe user device 106. The application 128 also includes a vital sign dataconfiguration module 134 that enables a user to configure the vital signdata transmitted to the server system 110. The configuration module 134may provide user-selectable options controlling, for example, an on/offstate of data transmission, how often vital sign data is sent, whichvital sign data types to send, and time periods in which vital sign datais sent (e.g., off during the day, on at night).

The illustrated application 128 also includes vital sign monitoringdevice controls 136 which provides user-selectable controls forconfiguring the monitoring device 102 and/or 104. The monitoring devicecontrols 136 may include controls related to, for example, powersettings, device registration, account settings, monitoring frequency,vital signs to monitor, monitoring time periods, and on/off controls.The application 128 may also include a patient ID information interface138 configured to provide for input and control of the user'sidentification information such as the patient information shown in FIG.6. The interface 138 may be secured (e.g., via password, biometric key,and/or other security feature) so that only the authorized user is ableto access and input patient identity information.

The user device 106 may include components that cause it to locallystore sufficient vital sign data to minimize or reduce data loss. Forexample, similar to the monitoring devices 102 and/or 104, the userdevice 106 may locally store the received vital sign data untilconnection with the server system 110 has been confirmed and the datahas been securely transmitted. Once transmitted, the data may be flaggedfor deletion, or at least flagged to be deleted or overwritten prior toany non-transmitted vital sign data.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates components that may be included as partof a healthcare facility system 112 and/or practitioner device 114. Theillustrated device includes memory 142, a processor 144, and acommunications module 146 to enable communication with the server system110. The vital sign application 148 may be similar to the vital signapplication 128 of the user device 106, except it may omit certainfeatures that are unique to the user device 106 and that are preferablymaintained under user control. For example, while the application 148includes a connectivity notifier 150 and a vital sign data display 152,it omits a vital sign data configuration module, leaving control overthe frequency and type of available vital sign data to the user. Theillustrated embodiment includes vital sign monitoring controls 156,allowing healthcare personnel to adjust the acuity, vital sign type, orsampling rate of the monitoring device as needed.

In another example, the application 148 includes a patient ID display158, which may allow patient ID information to be visualized but notedited. Thus, a doctor or nurse with access permission may be able tovisualize, but not change, the patient's private information. Otherembodiments may include other differences between the vital signapplication at the user device and at the healthcare facility device.For instance, some of the features omitted from vital sign application148 in the illustrated embodiment may in some circumstances be included,such as where it is beneficial to allow healthcare personnel toconfigure/control the gathered vital sign data. Some embodiments mayomit or limit the vital sign monitoring device controls 156 of theapplication 148, leaving the user with greater control over the relatedoptions.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example method 200 of configuring vital sign datausing the remote monitoring system 101 and in particular the serversystem 110 as shown in FIG. 3. The system determines whether the patientis a new patient (step 202). For new patients, the system theninitializes the patient into the system by getting or generating apatient ID from the patient ID database (step 204), marks the patient IDas used (step 206), and defines and records a start time associated withthe patient ID (step 208). The system also creates two separatedatabases for each patient by creating a patient vital sign measurementdatabase (step 210) and a patient private PHI database (step 212).

If the patient has already been initialized into the system, the method200 determines whether it is time for a new reading (step 214). This maybe done according to a predefined schedule and/or may occur based on apush command (e.g., initiated at the user device 106) or a pull command(e.g., initiated at the server system 110). Upon receipt of a new vitalsign reading, the system records the vital sign data in the vital signmeasurement database (step 216) and records the associated relative timeof the measurement in the vital sign measurement database (step 218).The method 200 may also determine whether to update patient private PHI(step 220), and if needed, update the patient private PHI database (step222).

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method 400 of configuring thetransmission of vital sign data using the monitoring device(s) 102and/or 104 as shown in FIG. 7. The controller 161 of the monitoringdevice receives vital sign measurement data from the sensor assembly 172(step 402). The received vital sign data is then locally stored (step404). The controller 161 determines a connectivity status to an externalcomputer device (e.g., the user device 106 and/or base station 108)(step 406). Based on the determined connectivity status, when sufficientconnectivity is established, the controller 161 sends the vital signdata to the external computer device and flags the vital sign data fordeletion from local storage (step 408).

Alternatively, when connectivity is not established, the controllermaintains the vital sign measurement data in local storage and continuesto periodically determine the connectivity status (step 410). Asdescribed above, vital sign data that has been “flagged for deletion”does not necessarily need to be immediately deleted. However, such datawill be deleted or overwritten prior to any vital sign data that has notyet been confirmed as transmitted.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary method 500 of configuring thetransmission of vital sign data using the user device 106 and/or basestation 108 as shown in FIG. 8. The device receives vital sign data fromthe monitoring device(s) 102 and/or 104 (step 502) and locally storesthe vital sign data (step 504). The device determines a connectivitystatus to the server computer system (step 506). Based on the determinedconnectivity status, the device sends the vital sign measurement data tothe server computer system (step 508) or maintains the vital sign datain local storage and generates a notification message (e.g., for displayat an interface of the user device 106/base station 108) indicating alack of connectivity (step 510).

The terms “module,” “component,” and the like refer to a structure thatis well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field ofcomputing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or acombination thereof. For instance, when implemented in software, one ofordinary skill in the art would understand that the structure of anexecutable component may include software objects, routines, methods,and so forth, that may be executed on the computing system, whether suchan executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, orwhether the executable component exists on computer-readable storagemedia.

Within this disclosure, embodiments are described with reference to actsthat are performed by one or more computing systems. If such acts areimplemented in software, one or more processors (of the associatedcomputing system that performs the act) direct the operation of thecomputing system in response to having executed computer-executableinstructions that constitute an executable component. For example, suchcomputer-executable instructions may be embodied on one or morecomputer-readable media that form a computer program product.

Terms such as “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as usedherein represent an amount or condition close to the stated amount orcondition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desiredresult. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” and“substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates byless than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a stated amount or condition.

Specific elements or components described in relation to any particularembodiment described herein may be substituted for or combined withelements described in relation to any other embodiment described herein.For example, any of the methods described in FIGS. 10 through 12 maymake use of any of the computer system embodiments and components shownin FIGS. 1 through 9.

1. A computer system for securing vital sign measurement data andconfiguring the vital sign measurement data for accessibility by aremote system to enable remote monitoring of one or more patient vitalsigns, the computer system being communicatively coupled to one or morewearable vital sign monitoring devices, the computer system comprising:one or more processors; one or more hardware storage devices havingstored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the computer system to generate aunique patient identifier relating to a patient to which one or morewearable vital sign monitoring devices are associated; receive, from auser-associated computer device, patient personal information relatingto the patient; based on the received patient personal information, andbased on the unique patient identifier, generate a patient protectedinformation database unique to the patient to store the patient personalinformation; receive, from the user-associated computer device, vitalsign measurement data indicative of one or more vital signs of thepatient as measured by the one or more wearable vital sign monitoringdevices; based on the received vital sign measurement data, and based onthe unique patient identifier, generate a vital sign measurementsdatabase unique to the patient to store the vital sign measurement data,the vital sign measurements database being separate from the patientprotected information database; and send vital sign measurement datafrom the vital sign measurement database to one or more remote computersystems to thereby enable remote monitoring of the one or more vitalsigns.
 2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions are further configured to cause thecomputer system to generate a time stamp representing a start time whenthe unique patient identifier is generated.
 3. The computer system ofclaim 2, wherein the computer-executable instructions are furtherconfigured to cause the computer system to, for each vital signmeasurement stored within the vital sign measurements database, generatea relative time stamp representing a relative time at which the vitalsign was measured with respect to the start time.
 4. The computer systemof claim 1, wherein vital sign measurement data is received atpre-determined intervals.
 5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein thevital sign measurement data includes data associated with one or morevital signs selected from the group consisting of; temperature, pulserate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and body part position.
 6. Thecomputer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more remote computersystems includes a computer system associated with a healthcare facilityand/or a healthcare practitioner.
 7. The computer system of claim 1,wherein the computer-executable instructions are further configured tocause the computer system to: receive, from the user-associated computerdevice, an initiation or stop command for collecting patient vital signmeasurement data, and based on the initiation or stop command, initiateor stop receiving vital sign measurement data from the user-associatedcomputer device.
 8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions are further configured to cause thecomputer system to: receive, from the remote computer system, a vitalsign measurement data request; receive, from the remote computer system,the unique patient identifier; and based on the received vital signmeasurement data request and the received unique patient identifier,send corresponding vital sign measurement data to the remote computersystem.
 9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions are further configured to cause thecomputer system to limit or block the sending of patient personalinformation from the patient protected information database to theremote computer system to a greater degree than the vital signmeasurement data from the vital sign measurement database.
 10. Awearable vital sign monitoring system configured to enable remotemonitoring of vital sign measurements, the system comprising one or morewearable vital sign monitoring devices adapted to be worn by a patientand to measure one or more patient vital signs, the system comprising: asensor assembly for measuring the one or more patient vital signs; aninternal controller physically connected to at least one of the one ormore vital sign monitoring devices, the internal controller includingone or more processors and one or more hardware storage devices havingstored thereon computer-executable instructions which are executable bythe one or more processors to cause the controller to receive vital signmeasurement data from the sensor assembly, locally store the vital signmeasurement data, determine a connectivity status to an externalcomputer device, and based on the determined connectivity status, sendthe vital sign measurement data to the external computer device and flagthe vital sign measurement data for deletion from local storage, ormaintain the vital sign measurement data in local storage and continueto periodically determine the connectivity status.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the one or more wearable vital sign monitoring devicesincludes an arm band monitoring device.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the one or more wearable vital sign monitoring devices includesa torso monitoring device.
 13. The system of claim 10, furthercomprising an indicator configured to activate when the internalcontroller determines a lack of connectivity.
 14. The system of claim10, wherein the external computer device is a user-associated devicecommunicatively coupled to the one or more vital sign monitoring devicesvia a Personal Area Network.
 15. The system of claim 10, the systemfurther comprising the external computer device, the external computerdevice comprising: one or more processors; one or more hardware storagedevices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer systemto receive vital sign measurement data from the internal controller ofthe one or more vital sign monitoring devices; locally store the vitalsign measurement data; determine a connectivity status to a servercomputer system; and based on the determined connectivity status, sendthe vital sign measurement data to the server computer system, orgenerate a notification message identifying lack of connectivity. 16.The system of claim 15, wherein the notification message is deliveredfor display at an interface of the external computer device.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the notification message isdelivered to the internal controller of the one or more vital signmonitoring devices.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the controlleris configured to, upon receiving the notification message, activate anindicator on the one or more vital sign monitoring devices.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein the indicator includes a light and/orspeaker.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the server computer systemis the computer system as in claim 1.